Molecular Evolution Activities
 

This is a comprehensive bibliography (under construction) of primary and secondary sources on the neutral theory of molecular evolution. It currently covers the period 1973-2001.

Author :

Nachman, M. W.;Boyer, S. N.;Aquadro, C. F.

Year :

1994

Title :

Nonneutral Evolution at the Mitochondrial Nadh Dehydrogenase Subunit 3-Gene in Mice

Journal :

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America

Volume :

91

Issue :

14

Pages :

6364-6368

Date :

Jul 5

Short Title :

Nonneutral Evolution at the Mitochondrial Nadh Dehydrogenase Subunit 3-Gene in Mice

Alternate Journal :

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A.

Custom 2 :

ISI:A1994NV42000026

Abstract :

The neutral theory of molecular evolution asserts that while many mutations are deleterious and rapidly eliminated from populations, those that we observe as polymorphisms within populations are functionally equivalent to each other and thus neutral with respect to fitness. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is widely used as a genetic marker in evolutionary studies and is generally assumed to evolve according to a strictly neutral model of molecular evolution. One prediction of the neutral theory is that the ratio of replacement (nonsynonymous) to silent (synonymous) nucleotide substitutions will be the same within and between species. We tested this prediction by measuring DNA sequence variation at the mitochondrially encoded NADH dehydrogenase subunit 3 (ND3) gene among 56 individual house mice, Mus domesticus. We also compared ND3 sequence from M. domesticus to ND3 sequence from Mus musculus and Mus spretus. A significantly greater number of replacement polymorphisms were observed within M. domesticus than expected based on comparisons to either M. musculus or M. spretus. This result challenges the conventional view that mtDNA evolves according to a strictly neutral model. However, this result is consistent with a nearly neutral model of molecular evolution and suggests that most amino acid polymorphisms at this gene may be slightly deleterious.

Notes :

Times Cited: 59 NV420 PROC NAT ACAD SCI USA
 -- contributed by John Beatty, March 29, 2002